Leopard
Fact

By: Quasha' Battle

Leopard facts

A leopard is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar. There are nine recognized subspecies of leopards. All subspecies except the African leopard can be found in Asia, South Asia, and India. Leopards eat small impala, deer and wild-beasts. On occasion, they may also hunt monkeys, rodents and birds. They often bring their prey up into the branches of a tree to eat it and protect it from other predators and scavengers. Leopards are active during the night and rest in the trees during the day. Leopards are good swimmers, they prefer to live alone. They can leap more then 20 feet and jump up to 10 feet. They live in a variety of habitats like forests, mountains, grasslands, and deserts. They are now regionally extinct in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait, Syrian Arab Republic, Libya, and Tunisia. A leopard can run 58km/h which is 35 mph and their approximate years of living, is 21 years. The last common ancestor of the lion, tiger, jaguar, snow leopard, and clouded leopard is believed to have occurred about 6.37 million years ago.